Ex-sailor jailed for raping teenager (From Western Telegraph)

Ex-sailor jailed for raping teenager

A FORMER sailor has been jailed for seven years for raping a teenage girl.

Craig Roke, aged 43, of Hop Gardens Road, Sageston, admitted the offence when he appeared before Judge Michael Burr at Swansea Crown Court.

Roke was banned from associating with children for life and ordered to register with the police as a sex offender.

The court heard that Roke spent 27 years in the Royal Navy, before retiring to Tenby and working as a taxi driver.

Patrick Griffiths said the girl told friends what had happened and they encouraged her to confide in a teacher. The school called the police and Roke confessed the moment he was arrested.

Robin Rouch, defending, said Roke was disgusted with himself. His main hope now was that his victim would not suffer any lasting harm.

Roke had already suffered, said Mr Rouch, to the extent that his own children had vowed to have nothing to do with him in the future.

Judge Burr said the offence could have attracted a sentence as high as 11 years, but he took account not only of Roke's guilty plea but his immediate confession to the police.